Pejman Soltani, 32, from Bukan, and Hamid Hoseinnezhad Heidaranlou, 40, from the village of Segrik in Chaldoran, have both been sentenced to death on separate charges by courts in Urmia, according to the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization.
Their families are now fighting to raise awareness and halt the executions.
Hamid Hoseinnezhad Heidaranlou
Heidaranlou was convicted of “baghi” (armed rebellion) in connection with his alleged membership in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and has been “transferred to solitary confinement in Urmia Central Prison ahead of his scheduled execution,” placing him at imminent risk, according to Hengaw.
Iran's state-owned Fars News Agency on Saturday aired a documentary titled “Hamid Hosseinezhad Confession,” featuring his alleged involvement in the killing of eight border guards in Chaldoran.
These types of confession are widely believed to be coerced, often obtained under threats, psychological pressure, and, in some cases, physical torture.
“The continuation of this situation, given the broadcast of Hamid Hoseinnezhad Heidaranlou’s forced confessions, brings serious news of the possibility of this verdict being implemented in the coming hours,” Hengaw said in a post Saturday on X accompanied by a video showing family members gathered in front of the Urmia Revolutionary Court.
Heidaranlou was able to briefly speak to his family and “asked them to continue to follow up on his case,” according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network. The family has requested a retrial.
Heidaranlou’s daughter released a video that was shared by Hengaw. In it, she said Iranian security forces pressured the family to falsely claim that their father had left them during a vacation, trying to link him to a deadly operation where the PKK was accused of killing eight security personnel.
Hengaw has obtained a photo of Heidaranlou’s passport showing dated exit and entry stamps, contradicting Iran’s claim that he was inside the country at the time of the incident.
Pejman Soltani
Pejman Soltani, “arrested during the 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi' (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement in Bukan, has been sentenced to death by Branch One of the Special Juvenile Criminal Court of West Azerbaijan (Urmia) Province,” Hengaw reported on February 9.
The protests were sparked in September 2022 when a Kurdish woman, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, died in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s compulsory hijab law. The nationwide protests were the longest anti-government demonstrations the country had seen in four decades.
Soltani was convicted of the “premeditated murder” of a member of the Basij voluntary paramilitary force during the protests.
His mother, Fawzia Soltani, told Rudaw that the family of the person killed has agreed to waive the execution sentence in exchange for five billion tomans (around $60,000), as is possible under Iranian law.
Seyyed Hassan Bukani, a philanthropist from Bukan, has announced a campaign to raise the money.
Iran executed an estimated 909 people in 2024, with Kurds making up 20 percent of the total, according to Hengaw. Human rights organizations have criticized Tehran’s use of the death penalty, especially for minority groups and people who protest against the regime.
“In 2024, Iran persisted in their use of the death penalty to punish individuals who had challenged the Islamic Republic establishment during the Woman Life Freedom uprising,” Amnesty International said in a report earlier this month.
Updated at 11:00 pm
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